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Forgotten narratives from the suburbs

If city planners are interested in creating attractive suburbs then they should listen to the histories of the inhabitants, says human geographer Per Gunnar Røe.

The author Nikolaj Frobenius described them as "people-destroying machines". The architect Jan Carlsen wants to demolish them: The tower blocks of Oslo's suburbs do not have the best of reputations. Yet this is despite of the fact that many of their residents are happy in these high houses. Yet the residents' stories are rarely heard.

Consequently, the prejudices are never challenged. And stereotypes are not exactly the right place to start when planning suburban development.

Groruddalen
Photo: Frank Paul Silye (© All rights reserved)

Sociocultural analaysis of places

The human geographer Per Gunnar Røe has therefore put together an interdisciplinary team, and developed a method that will capture relevant data that normally is neglected in traditional urban planning, namely the people that live "between the buildings". The method is called the sciocultural analysis of place, and is a method that moves the focus from the physical structures of a place to its social and cultural diversity.

– The physical planning and development of a place affects different social groups in different ways. Therefore, it is important to analyze individuals' experiences, wishes, interests and images of places, the human geographer explains.

The sociocultural analysis of place combines a variey of qualitative methods. This may include the analysis of case documents, newspaper articles, Internet sites, statistics, literature and film, in addition to observations at the place, interviews and participant observation.

Big differences

By use of this method, at a variety of locations, human geographers have revealed big diferences between the authorities' and residents' visions and interests.

One example is the urban development process in Sandvika, 20km west of central Oslo. There, a myth that Sandvika was a place without any qualities was used to justify major changes in the urban landscape.

Sandvika was to be changed from a "non-place" into a town with character and function worthy of the administrative centre of Bærum municipality.

– The local population were not included in the planning proces. No consideration was taken of the residents' experiences and Sandvika's diversity. There was an alliance between local politicians, entrpreneurs and architects who developed the first so-called "holistic plan", Røe explains.

Too little knowledge of suburbs

– When the architect Jan Carlsen suggested demolishing the tower blocks of Ammerud, there were protests from the residents. What is needed is much greater sensitivity towards local, cultural conditions. Claims that a suburb lacks the essence of community, solidarity and belonging is not empirically established. Particularly in suburbs where many families with children live the bonds between neighbours are much closer than in a gentrified urban neighbourhood like Grünerløkka. People stay a great deal longer in the suburbs and invest their energy in local relations, he emphasises.

The researcher points out that we know surprisingly little about the suburbs – despite more and more of us living there:

Per Gunnar Røe
Associate professor Per Gunnar Røe urges city planners to listen the residents' stories.

– Detailed descriptions of suburbs and life in the suburbs are rare in academic literature. Much of what we believe is based upon myths. Most suburb research has been conducted in the USA and cannot be applied to Europe.

Røe suggests we look at suburbs in a new way

– A place is not just the sum of it's buildings, but of combined social activities and social relations. When it is stated in the Ministry of the Environment's guide to analysing places that "new building seldom manages to retain the identity of a place" how the local people react to the changes and identify with the altered landscape is not taken into account.

– We should be less interested in the "spirit of the place". Instead, we should look at a place as a multitide, that is continuall being created and that undergoes constant change.

Profit by listening

Many of the new urban development projects in Sandvika or Bjørvika, are part of a global trend in which places compete with each other to attract people and money. But not all those involved are included.

– Some people profit by driving forward the competetive based urban development, while others are alienated by the process, or just excluded. Research can reveal these opposing positions and give a voice to those who are not heard.

– Urban planning will profit from including the experiences, knowledge and interests of those people that are on the outside of the established urban planning circles. These people will not merely be a base of opposition against development but a resource to be used in developing successful urban environments, Røe concludes.

By Lorenz Khazaleh. (Translation by the Department of Sociology and Human Geography)
Published Nov. 23, 2010 1:14 PM - Last modified Jan. 30, 2024 11:07 AM